On our last day, we slept in a little to recover from the Halloween Party then went to Animal Kingdom. We had time to watch It's Tough to Be a Bug and for a quick train ride.
Next up was our lunch reservation at Tusker House. The food was really good and a nice change from the typical cheeseburger or pizza we'd been having most of the week. The characters were much for interactive than the ones at Hollywood & Vine also. Of the two character meals, this one was our favorite.
Daisy was the absolute sweetest character we met on our whole trip! Miller was being kind of shy and when she came over he was drawing a picture. She knelt down beside him and "asked" (motioned) for his pen.
He didn't understand what she wanted so I gave a sharpie we had and she started to draw with him.
You can't tell in my photos, but Miller was wearing plaid shorts and she was drawing them together. He LOVED it and thought it was so neat. After that he warmed up a little and cuddled up to her. It was precious.
After the show, Bryant and I went to ride Everest while Pop, Gran, and Miller went to watch It's Tough to Be a Bug again (per Miller's request). We met up just in time for our Fast Passes to the Kilimanjaro Safari. It was pretty cool and I was surprised that we saw as many animals as we did and so close! Miller liked it, but I think the late night and the motion of the truck were just too much for him to resist. He fell asleep about halfway through it.
We let him sleep in the stroller for a while and I think Pop was happy for the break as well ;)
By the time he woke up from his nap we only had about an hour left before the park closed since Animal Kingdom closes early. We had Fast Passes to watch the last show of Finding Nemo, but there were also a few more rides Miller had wanted to do. We decided to let him choose and he chose the rides. I hated that we didn't have time to see Finding Nemo, but I guess we'll have to catch that on the next trip! We rode Dinosaur first and Miller was terrified!! The dinosaurs were pretty realistic and it was pitch black dark in there. In the ride photo, I was covering his eyes telling him, "It will be over soon" because he was flipping out. I felt so bad, but I honestly thought he'd love it!
From there we went to the ride he'd been looking forward to all day, Kali River Rapids. We were able to ride it twice and were soaked both times! That was the only cool day we had on our trip and I was freezing after that!
We rushed home, did a super quick change, and jumped on the boat to go to dinner at Artist Point. Dinner was pretty disastrous, but the boat ride was fun! On our next trip, I will plan sooner and only eat at restaurants in the park we are going to that day or somewhere on the monorail. Otherwise, we'll just grab something quick or do room service. We went to some pretty good restaurants, but it was just too much and too long of a day for Miller.
We loved Animal Kingdom and I think it was the perfect park to go to after our late night. It was laid back, shaded, and even though we missed Finding Nemo we were able to get everything else done in a short day there.
The next morning, we had breakfast at The Wave in our hotel, let Miller pick out a souvenir, and the boys played in the Arcade while I packed our room up. I was glad that we flew out later in the day so that we didn't have to get up super early and could relax a little. We were so excited to pick up the little guy at the airport!!
He stayed with Poppy and Cissy while we were gone and I am confidant he had way more fun with them than he would have had in a hot stroller all week!
Thanks for the sweet pictures and for taking such good care of him, Poppy and Cissy! Jacob, I assure you that your big brother will NOT let us forget that we "promised to go back when Jacob's four, or maybe three". He only tells me about three times a week!!!
As for Miller's souvenir, he chose the Monorail and says he's going to ask Santa for the castle that goes with it. We'll see if he's still asking for it in December. ;) For now, the Monorail has taken over our bedroom {it has little, tiny characters that ride in it that we try to keep away from Jacob}.
We used to think we'd wait until Jacob was older to go to Disney all together, but I'm so glad that we went this Fall. I think Miller was the perfect age {and height!} and it really was so much fun. He didn't go to sleep very easily being in the same room with us, but we haven't decided if it's worth the price difference or staying off of the property in order to get a suite of some sort. I already mentioned the restaurant reservations that I would do differently on our next trip. Other changes would be to not go to the Magic Kingdom on a Sunday or Monday if possible since those tend to be the most crowded days and we might do the Park Hopper passes next time and split a day between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I also think we might only go to one character meal. Miller liked the characters, but liked the rides much more. The character meals took up a lot of time for very little time with the characters. However, while the Hollywood & Vine breakfast was just ok, it was the only place that we were able to meet those characters. So that might make it worth it, because Miller was excited to meet Jake. Of course, you never know! Jacob may hate the rides and love the characters, so we'll just have to see whenever we plan our next trip. The biggest change I'll make is to plan way earlier next time. We booked our trip about three months out and that just wasn't enough time to get reservations places. Ok, sorry for all of the boring details! They are mostly for me so that I will remember for next time.
Thanks again to Pop and Gran for all of your help on the trip and to Poppy and Cissy for taking care of Jacob while we were gone! It takes a village! :)
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